


The Official Beach City Undercover Detective Team (Now With Membership Cards!)

by Bloodsbane



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Misunderstandings, Multi, Polyamory, poly cool kids, secret team shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-22 10:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3725779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodsbane/pseuds/Bloodsbane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Steven sees Jenny kiss Buck after he's led to believe the girl is dating Sour Cream, he and Connie begin to wonder about the trio's relationship status. Is Jenny cheating on one of the boys with the other? Steven doesn't want to believe she would ever such a terrible thing... so he and Connie form a super secret team; they'll get to the bottom of this mystery!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~
> 
> So, poly cool kids, amiright? I cant believe how fiercely this ship punched me in the gut, stuffed me into a sac and dragged me off into the distance, never to be seen again. 
> 
> This is my first SU fic, so as a disclaimer, I'm still figuring out how to write all of these characters. Steven as a narrative focal point is surprisingly tricky, if you can believe it! So any comments concerning characterization are perfectly welcome. Hopefully they come across as being in-character though! 
> 
> This fic was inspired by a little scenario suggested to me by someone over on tumblr! I hope you enjoy it.

Steven stood, fingers clenched, fully focused on the task before him. As tiny beads of sweat began to decorate his forehead, the young boy seemed almost to vibrate with the effort of concentrating every iota of attention he had into this next shot.

 

It was now or never, do or die! Steven took one last, deep breath, and then he swung his arm with all the force he could muster.

 

Which, today, didn’t amount to much.

 

“Aw, sorry buddy,” said the owner of the stand. He gave Steven a sympathetic look, then bent down to pick up the little plastic ball as it rolled and bumped into the far stand, where a tower of six glass bottles was balanced.

 

Steven sighed wearily, face teary and desolate at his upteenth failure. “It’s not fair! I’d be able to make that shot any other day…”

 

“Not on your game?” the man asked. He placed the plastic ball in a basket under the wooden counter, then leaned on his elbows to speak more easily to the shorter boy. “I’ve seen you around here before I think. I’ve seen you play this game before too!”

 

Steven smiled, pleased at having been recognized. “Yeah! I love coming to Funland! Um, yeah…” The boy blushed, somewhat embarrassed at his incredibly bad attempts at winning a prize. “It’s just that I went on a really tough mission earlier today, so I’m really weak and I can’t throw as hard…!”

 

The man tilted his head, eyebrows quirking. “A mission?”

 

“Yeah, with the Crystal Gems!” Steven explained excitedly. “We just got back from fighting this huge bug monster thing! It was like… this big!” Steven took a few steps back with the effort of attempting to convey exactly how big the ‘bug monster thing’ was with his arms. His face was flush in excitement, eyes twinkling. “And whenever Garnet would punch it, part of it would explode, but then weird little bug creatures would fall on the ground and you had to stomp on them before they could spit acid at you! So, me and Amethyst where stomping on them and throwing rocks on the bigger ones to crush them! We had to keep doing that until Pearl and Garnet could beat up the monster enough so that the head exploded.” Steven took a deep breath, grinning. He didn’t seem to notice the somewhat incredulous, somewhat amazed look on the stand-keeper’s face.

 

Then the boy shrugged tiredly, sighing again. “That’s why I’m so tired - I was throwing around rocks for like, a whole hour!” Steven settled his arms on the counter, resting his head against them forlornly. “I’m really tired… but I wanted to win a prize today! That one!”

 

He pointed at a stuffed bird suspended on a hook, hung by it’s tag. It was upside down, it’s soft wings pointed ever down toward the earth. “It looks so sad hanging like that…” Steven said, his face awash with misery; the stand-keeper was a little afraid the kid might start crying.

 

In an attempt to prevent any tears, the man cleared his throat and offered a smile. “Well, it’s okay kid… I’ll be here again tomorrow! All weekend, actually. You can try and, uh, save him then.”

 

Steven instantly brightened at the idea, leaning up and hopping a bit. “Really! Oh, then I can win him tomorrow!” He inspected the stuffed animal again, tilting his head in an attempt to mimic it’s upside-down state. “Don’t worry, Arcimicarus, I’ll save you!”

 

“Uh, Arci-what?”

 

“He looks kinda like this character from a book!” Steven explained, standing regularly again. Then he gasped, as if realizing something pleasant. “Ohhh, maybe once I win him, I can give him to Connie!”

 

“Who’s Connie? She a girl you like?” asked the man, good-naturedly. Well, mostly he was happy for a change in subject - the last thing he wanted was some crying kid in front of his stand.

 

The boy blushed, chuckling shyly and wringing the hem of his shirt. The stand-keeper smiled and nodded. “Ahh, puppy love! So cute. Seems to be a lot of that going around.”

 

Steven’s eyebrows rose in curiosity. “What do you mean?”

 

The man shrugged. “Well, if those two kids who played over here earlier where anything to go by. I’d say they were definitely a couple.”

 

He couldn’t help but be curious; Steven leaned forward. “What did they look like? I wonder if I know them…”

 

“Probably,” the man said casually, leaning back now against one wall of the stand. “They definitely looked like boardwalk kids… I mean, y’know, a lof of you people who live here kinda look like you live near the ocean. Not like tourists, anyway. One was this tall kid, really pale, with weird orange pants and a deep voice.”

 

Steven smiled brightly. “That’s Sour Cream!”

 

That couldn’t possibly be the kid’s real name… “Uh, okay,” said the man anyway, agreeing with the wave of a hand. “He was here with a girl - dark skinned, shorts, big gold earrings?”

 

“Jenny!” Steven said joyfully. He hadn’t seen any of the three ‘cool kids’ hanging out on the boardwalk today, but if they were at Funland he definitely wanted to try and say hello. As an afterthought, Steven paused and then asked, “Wait, you said you thought they where a couple?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” the man said assuredly. “Definitely dating. They were using cute little pet names and holding hands. The girl tried to get the guy to play the game, but he seemed too shy to try I guess. Then she played and won and picked out a stuffed fish. Weird choice… although I think it might’ve been some inside joke between ‘em. The girl started laughing when she tried to give it to her boyfriend and he made a sour face.”

 

“Boyfriend?” Steven wondered. The idea was a little weird. When he thought of either Jenny or Sour Cream, he couldn’t help but imagine Buck with them, and vise versa. Those three seemed like really close friends - the idea of only two was kinda odd.

 

But, well, Steven had only hung out with them a few times… Lars was right, though - they were really cool! They were nice and easy to talk to, and they let Steven ride around with them in Jenny’s pizza car.

 

Thinking such pleasant things reminded Steven that he wanted to say hello. He almost immediately forgot his previous subject of thought, waving cheerily to the stand-keeper before turning on one sandaled heel and racing down the walk in search of his friends.

 

\--

 

Steven spotted Sour Cream and Jenny as he rounded a corner, skidding to a halt when his eyes locked on them. They were standing just a few yards away, facing away from him, waiting in line for one of the rides. Steven couldn’t help a blush as he gazed at the roller coaster. He was still holding out on that small hope that Mr. Smiley might un-ban him from all the rides…

 

From what Steven could see, Sour Cream was talking while Jenny listened. The girl had her arm wrapped around Sour Cream’s, his hands in his pockets while Jenny held their tickets for the ride in her free hand. They were smiling a lot, and laughing every now and then.

 

It seemed like normal friend stuff. Steven frowned slightly, wondering what that guy at the game stand had seen to make him think the two were dating.

 

In the end Steven simply shrugged, deciding it wasn’t a big deal. Benign interest and confusion where overtaken by enthusiastic excitement at the prospect of saying hi to friends, so Steven wasted no more time in running over.

 

Sour Cream was laughing at something Jenny said when Steven reached them. “Hi guys!”

 

The teens paused, looking down and over at Steven. Jenny smiled and greeted him back, saying, “Hey Steven! How’re you?”

 

“I’m doin’ pretty good,” Steven replied, his voice chill. He decided not to tell her about his aching arms, or his still-fresh disappointment at missing a chance to win the stuffed bird. “Are you guys going on the roller coaster?”

 

“You bet!” Jenny said, her grin becoming a little more mischievous. Steven thought, sometimes, she looked a lot like Amethyst when she made faces like that. Behind her, Sour Cream made a small sound of discontent, but his deep voice was easy to hear beneath the hum of of the surrounding crowd. Jenny yanked at his arm, hooked with hers, playfully. “C’mon, stop complaining!” She turned to Steven and whispered, as if telling him a secret, “Sour Cream has never ridden a roller coaster before.”

 

Steven gasped. “Whaaaat? Really?”

 

Sour Cream looked shocked. “Yeah I have!”

 

“Being forced to ride one when you were five doesn’t count!” Jenny insisted. “That one was, like, for babies. So it doesn’t count.”

 

“Oh, so being forced to ride when I’m seventeen makes it count?”

 

Jenny leaned heavily against the taller boy, and Steven chuckled as she whined. “Sour Cream, c’mon, you gotta go with me! You know Buck absolutely refuses to ride on this thing with me, the scaredy-cat…”

 

Sour Cream scoffed and mumbled something sounding like “whatever…” under his breath, blushing and turning away from the both of them. Jenny seemed to appreciate this response, however, and smiled happily as she held him a bit tighter and turned around to Steven again.

 

Steven began bouncing a bit, enjoying her playful bickering with Sour Cream - she definitely reminded him of Amethyst a lot. “Hey, do you guys wanna go play some games with me when you’re done on the roller coaster? There are new ones from out of town in the empty stands on the other side of the park! They have lots of new prizes and stuff over there.”

 

Jenny’s smile faltered, and Steven immediatly stopped in his gentle bouncing. She seemed reluctant and nervous. Over her shoulder, Sour Cream gave Steven an odd look before turning away again, his pale cheeks still pink.

 

“Um… Well, the thing is Steven,” Jenny said, her voice oddly aimless, as if she wasn’t sure of what to say but she didn’t want anyone to notice. “This is kinda… Well, this is sort of a day for just me and Sour Cream. We wanted to hang out, just the two of us… y’know?”

Steven thought about it, looking between the two of them. What the man said earlier came back to his mind, and he wondered…

 

Did she mean… a date? Was Jenny on a date with Sour Cream?

 

That made the most sense, Steven supposed. They were standing close and holding one another, spending a day with just each other, and winning prizes for one another… That certainly sounded like something a couple would do on a date. Steven looked at them, eyes wide now, twinkling at the idea.

 

“Hmm, okay,” Steven said, his words hanging as he thought. “I understand. Well, I can’t get on the roller coaster, so… I’ll hang out with you guys some other time then!”

 

Jenny’s worried expression quickly evaporated. Pleased with Steven’s easy acceptance, she reached over and ruffled his hair a bit in silent thanks. “Alright Steven. We’ll catch you later, lil’ man!”

 

Steven grinned and started off, waving goodbye at Jenny. He noticed, as Sour Cream pulled his hand from his jacket to wave back too, what looked like a plush fish’s tail sticking poking out of the pale-blue pocket.

 

* * *

 

Every once in a while, when Connie was able to stay over a little later, she and Steven would go over near the abandoned warehouse and listen to some of the club music Sour Cream played for the other teenagers. Neither was exactly comfortable with going back into the warehouse, not yet… Their experience as Stevonnie had been a mostly good one, Steven liked to think, but something about the place still made them both a little anxious.

 

Still, he and Connie enjoyed listening to music, so they’d go over an hour before sunset when most some of the teenagers started gathering. A lot of the heavier jams weren’t put on until after dark, but Sour Cream played a lot more of the brighter, faster songs before then.

 

So Connie was with Steven, sitting beside the boy with a popsicle in her hand as they dug their feet into the warm sand of the beach. They sat on the rocks at the base of the hill - a good spot to listen, but not seem too conspicuous to the other teens. Steven watched them climb up the grassy hill and to the cliff, where the music drifted out and down like static electricity, buzzing through the grass and teasing Steven’s ears.

 

“Sour Cream is a really good at making music,” Steven said, admiration shining in his voice as he stared up the hill. “My dad’s good with audio and stuff, but I don’t think he can make music sound like that!”

 

Connie nodded, smiling. She quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin she’d brought before, the blue popsicle staining her lips a little. It reminded Steven of his melting treat, and he attempted to lick up the mess as she spoke. “It is pretty cool. I didn’t even know you could play music like that using gaming devices!”

 

“Is that why it sounds like the kinda stuff I’d hear in my video games?” Steven asked, licking up a long strand of blue along his arm. Connie shot him a look that was slightly disgusted. The boy chuckled nervously. “Sorry. Can I have a napkin?”

 

Connie smiled and rolled her eyes, reaching for some extras she’d stuffed into her pocket and handing them to the helpless boy in front of her.

 

While Steven cleaned up, Connie looked over her shoulder and up the hill. It was starting to get dark - her parents would be calling soon, telling her it was time to meet them at the boardwalk so they could drive her home. Already the light on the ocean was turning into a pale blush, oranges and pinks making the light on the ocean look like spring flowers. Soon they’d wilt, and the colors would darken to blues and greens with the night.

 

That was when most of the teenagers showed up. Most from Beach City; a handful would come from the next neighborhood over, enduring a twenty-minute walk to meet up with friends and hang out for a few hours. Steven always saw at least two or three kids he didn’t know. He thought it was really cool so many people knew about Sour Cream’s parties at the warehouse, and so many of them got to listen to his music!

 

“Hey…” Steven noticed two figures standing outside the warehouse, near the back of the building. Squinting, he thought he recognized that jacket… those earrings… “Is that Jenny and Buck?”

 

Connie had just finished her popsicle and was wrapping the stick in a napkin when he spoke. “Hmm?” She looked over her shoulder. “Who do you mean?”

 

Sometimes Steven forgot Connie wasn’t as familiar with all of his friends. “Jenny Pizza and Buck Dewey… They’re Sour Cream’s friends. They’re standing outside over there.”

 

He pointed, and now that some of the street lamps were being lit, he could see them a bit more clearly. Buck was leaning against the wall while Jenny stood, one hand waving animatedly as she smiled and talked. Steven thought they looked odd, and then he noticed one of Buck’s hands was resting on Jenny’s waist. The skin of her stomach was bare, midriff exposed with the shortness of her shirt. It was a cute shirt with a pink galaxy print; Steven unconsciously nodded his head in approval.

 

“You said they’re Sour Cream’s friends?” Connie asked. “It’s weird that they’re not inside then…”

 

“Hmm… maybe,” Steven mumbled. He finished his popsicle and was preparing to wrap it up as Connie had when he saw something that made him gasp, shocked, and drop his trash in the sand.

 

Connie’s eyes widened. “What? What is it? Are you okay?”

 

Steven pointed a finger in the direction of the two teens. “They kissed!”

 

Connie blinked, then blushed and looked over her shoulder again. Jenny and Buck where very close now, the latter with a smile on his face as Jenny’s lips hovered a moment before landing on his cheek. Then the girl seemed to pinch his sides, and the two of them danced away from one another before Jenny grabbed his hand and playfully dragged him into the warehouse. Inside, the lights were burning brighter against the growing night, and Sour Cream’s cheerful tunes slowly became deeper, heavier beats.

 

For a minute, the two kids simply sat quietly, the ocean waves softly massaging their silence so it wasn’t quite as sharp.

 

Then Steven shook his head, running a hand through his thick, curly hair. “I don’t get it…”

 

“Don’t get what,” Connie asked quietly. Her cheeks were a little red.

 

“I thought… I thought Sour Cream was dating Jenny!” Steven said. “Or - well, I mean… I thought they might be? Huh… I guess I was wrong.”

 

Connie shook her head, looking more alarmed than flustered now. “Wait, why would you think that?”

 

Steven shrugged, now thoroughly confused. “I saw them at Funland the other day. They where… They were holding hands and stuff! When I asked them if they wanted to hang out, Jenny said they just wanted it to be the two of them… That means it was, like, a date… right? That’s what I thought it meant! The stand guy said they were dating!”

 

“Stand guy?”

 

Steven shook his head. “Aw, I don’t know! Maybe I was wrong. I mean…”

 

He paused, trying to make sense of it in his head. Maybe… maybe they were just really close, all three of them. Steven wasn’t used to seeing friends hug and hold hands and kiss like that, but to be fair, he really didn’t know a lot about relationships. He was sure Sadie and Lars like each other, for example, and they’d even kissed once… but Sadie insisted they were just friends whenever he brought it up. So maybe friends could do that kinda stuff too?

 

“I guess they’re just close,” Steven sighed, giving up on trying to make sense of it. “Maybe I was wrong.”

 

“Well… It doesn’t sound like you’re wrong,” Connie said.

 

“R-really?”

 

“No. And I mean… even if they are close, friend’s just don’t do that kind of stuff together!”

 

“Don’t do what?”

 

Connie blushed, her face showing the utmost exasperation. “K-kiss and stuff! Kiss and hold hands and go on dates! That’s not what friends usually do, Steven.”

 

“Then why…?”

 

“It sounds to me…” Connie frowned deeply. She inclined her head, and Steven scooted closer on his rock to lean in so he could hear her whisper, “It sounds like Jenny’s cheating on one of them with the other…”

 

“Like when someone cheats at Kitchen Calamity!?”

 

“What…? N-no! Steven, that’s not what I mean by cheating!”

 

“Then what do you mean?”

 

Connie made as if to speak, but a sudden sharp humming interrupted them. There was a familiar beeping sounded, and Connie immediately pulled back so she could shift and pull her phone out of her pocket.

 

“It’s mom,” she explained once she was finished speaking, but Steven already knew - it was time for her to get going. “She’s waiting by the beach near your house. I have to go right now.”

 

“But…” Steven gently tugged at his hair, exasperated. “I’m still confused!”

 

Connie had already gathered up her things, crumbling the napkins and popsicle. She also grabbed the trash Steven had dropped in his surprise.

 

“Um, don’t worry about it! I’ll come over again tomorrow… We’ll talk about it then,” Connie said, nodding to Steven. With one last glance up the hill, she waved and then turned, running down the sandy beach to find her mom’s car.

 

Steven usually would have walked her back happily, but right now the boy felt too mentally taxed. He slid down his rock and plopped into the sand, watching the dark blue waves push lazily against the beach.

 

* * *

 

Connie came over early the next day, and she and Steven decided the safest place to talk would be in Rose’s room. Both children were more weary of the cloudy area now, but it was a good, private place to talk and despite the incident with Cloud Connie, they often still played inside. It was hard for any child to resist a place where anything you imagined was available on command.

 

So Connie came and the two of them quickly scurried in. Steven imagined up two large, comfortable pink pillows for them to sit on while they talked.

 

“Why did you think up pillows though?” Connie asked. “I mean, the place is literally made of clouds. The ground is pretty soft.”

 

“Um… because I can?” Steven suggested. “Besides, the ground-clouds still feel like a floor, so they’re a little stiff.”

 

“I guess so,” Connie agreed. She crossed her legs and her expression switched to something more serious. “Okay. So, like I said yesterday… I think Jenny may be cheating on either Sour Cream or Buck… or, at least, she’s leading one or both of them on.”

 

Steven groaned, immediately becoming confused again. “What does all that mean?”

 

Connie tilted her head, frowning. It was so weird that Steven wasn’t quite aware of such terms and concepts; sometimes she forgot how distant he was from ‘her’ world. He didn’t have parents like Connie’s, who told her often what was right and wrong (or at least what they thought was right or wrong). Connie couldn’t imagine any of the Crystal Gems talking to him about human romance or the more sour aspects of it… They probably knew less about it than him.

 

Steven mostly watched cartoons and anime, and not ones often focused on romance either. He hadn’t even been huge on reading until Connie got him into The Spirit Morph Saga. Steven had spent almost his entire life in Beach City, too. Upon thinking on all this, Connie decided it really wasn’t so surprising that kind, sweet Steven Universe hadn’t thought about or seen anything as awful as someone cheating on a person they shared a relationship with.

 

“Well… Cheating is when you have a couple, right?” Connie held up two fingers, one with each hand. “They’re boyfriend and girlfriend, and-”

 

“What if they’re both boys? Or both girls?” Steven asked, quirking his eyebrows as if Connie had made a mistake. Connie blushed.

 

“W-well… um, okay, maybe that too. Sure. Anyway, so there’s Person A and Person B, and they’re in a relationship. They’re dating, and they’re exclusive, which means they only go out with one another and they only hug or hold hands or kiss that other person.”

 

Steven nodded, watching as Connie held her two fingers side by side. She then began to pull one finger further and further from the other. “Cheating is when Person A goes behind Person B’s back and does all that stuff with someone else, at the same time…”

 

“Oh no!” Steven said, distressed. “That… that’s not right! If you’re dating someone, that means you’re in love with them and you want to be together forever, right?”

 

Connie blushed again, laughing a little. “I mean… yeah, sorta. It’s a little more complicated than that, Steven. That’s more like, when you get married to somebody.”

 

“Oh,” Steven said. He still looked upset though. “But dating is like... a promise, right? So if someone cheats, it’s like breaking a promise? B-but why would you do that? That’d hurt their feelings!”

 

“I know, Steven,” Connie said, nodding her head in agreement. “That’s why it’s bad, and that’s why it’d be bad if that’s what Jenny’s doing to the other boys!”

 

Steven was shaking his head again, but he seemed more confused than mad. “But Jenny’s not mean, she’s really nice! She and Buck and Sour Cream are all best friends! Why would she lie to one of them and go do girlfriend things with the other?”

 

Connie wanted to answer him, but she could only shrug.

 

They sat together, both thinking on it. Eventually, Steven seemed to reach a decision. He bounced off his pink pillow, which poofed away in a cloud of wispy smoke. “I know what we need to do!”

 

“Hmm?” Connie asked, looking up at him.

 

“We need to start… a secret team!”

 

“A… secret team?”

 

Steven was grinning now, and Connie recognized the shine of an idea in his eyes. “Yeah! We’ll make up a secret team that no one else knows about… so we can get to the bottom of this mystery!”

He sounded very convinced this was a good plan, but Connie rubbed her knee and decided she wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know, Steven… Is this really our business?”

 

Steven faltered, but only for a second. He looked down at her, less excited and more genuine as he said, “I don’t wanna believe that Jenny would do something so mean! B-but if she is… well, that means we have to tell them, right? We have to tell Sour Cream or Buck about it! That’s the right thing to do, isn’t it?”

 

“I guess,” Connie agreed, quietly. She wasn’t sure how comfortable she was at the idea of spying on anybody, but she could tell Steven seemed enamored with the idea.

 

“Great!” Steven gasped, then added, “Oh, oh! Our team needs a name! And it can’t be Secret Team, o-or Super Secret Team.” Steven reddened as he said this, looking oddly suspicious. Connie decided to overlook this.

 

“Um, okay,” she said, giggling a little now. Her friend was so excited and silly, she couldn’t help but get swept along. “Maybe… Undercover Detective Team?”

 

Connie didn’t feel it was particularly clever, but Steven grinned and seemed extremely satisfied with her suggestion. “Perfect!”

 

Steven held out a hand, smiling down at Connie. “So, will you be my partner and be on my Undercover Detective Team?”

 

Connie laughed, holding up her hand and taking her friend’s. Steven easily helped her to stand up. “Yeah, let’s do it! We’ll get to the bottom if this mystery.”

 

“Yay, a secret team with Connie!” Steven shouted in glee, throwing up his arms. Then he gasped deeply and yelled, “We need membership cards!”

 

Connie snickered. “Membership cards? For a secret team?”

 

“Of course! To make it official,” Steven stated. In the air beside his head, two cards materialized from the clouds in the room. Steven beamed. “Yeah, just like these!”

 

He snatched them out of the air, but Connie shook her head at them. “We can’t take those out of the room, though!”

 

Steven blinked. “Aw, you’re right…”

 

His disappointment, as it usually did, only lasted a few seconds. As the cloud cards poofed away, Steven’s starry-eyed expression returned. “I can draw membership cards for us!”

 

Connie grinned. “That’s a great idea, Steven!”

 

“I’ll draw them and you can color them in,” Steven decided, smiling. Holding Connie’s hand again, he turned and led the girl toward the room’s exit, which had materialized a few feet away. Connie let herself be pulled, feeling strangely excited for this little adventure of theirs to begin.

 

Indeed, she was very curious to find the truth of the three cool kids and their relationship…

 


	2. Chapter 2

“So… what’s your plan?”

 

Steven stopped scribbling a boarder on his membership card and looked up at Connie, who had done the same. His friend had finished coloring in his lines a few moments ago, but they agreed to pick their own color for the border. Connie had chosen minty green while Steven went with red. “Um… a plan?”

 

“Well yeah!” Connie carefully tucked her card into the breast pocket of her overalls. “I mean, if we’re going to be ‘undercover’ about this, that means we have to learn the truth without anyone knowing what we’re up to.”

 

“Of course,” Steven agreed, nodding sagely.

 

After a few more moments of silence, Steven said, “I can't think of a plan.”

 

Connie shook her head, chuckling a little. “How about… Why don’t we try asking anyone if they know? Like, we could ask Jenny’s family if she has a boyfriend. They should know!”

 

“Aww, that’s no fun though!”

 

Connie crossed her arms. “This isn’t about fun! Well, mostly it isn't.” She poked a crayon, then caught it as it rolled and fell off the table. “This is about finding the truth! So we have to do whatever we can to figure out what’s going on, right?”

 

Steven deflated slightly. That didn’t sound like a particularly fun plan, but… “You’re right. You’re always right,” he said, pretending to be sour about it. Connie giggled. “But wait, wouldn’t it be too suspicious to just ask something like that?”

 

Tapping her finger on her chin, Connie thought about it and then said, “Yeah, you’re right. If we ask too directly, the people we ask might tell Jenny or the others about it or something.”

 

“Maybe, um… a trick?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Steven finished coloring, holding up his card and looking at it appreciatively. It was a drawing of him and Connie holding hands, both of them wearing detective hats and holding pipes. There were bubbles coming out of the pipes instead of smoke, though - Connie’s suggestion. In one corner Connie had written in her neat little script the words ‘Undercover Detective Team’, while on the opposite side Steven had drawn a few stars under a magnifying glass.

 

They were pretty fabulous cards, if Steven did say so himself.

 

He gleefully pocketed his card and then said, “I mean, if we can't ask them the question directly, maybe we can ask it, um, undirectly?”

 

“Indirectly, Steven,” Connie corrected softly. Steven nodded.

 

“Yeah, that! We just need to come up with a better excuse. Like, a reason for us to be asking.”

 

Connie considered this. Then she smiled and said, “Yes! I’ve got an idea on how we can do that.”

 

\--

 

It was a warm summer day, with the Beach City breeze as cool and salty as ever. Clouds dropped clear shadows onto the boardwalk, and Steven attempted hopping from blotch to blotch as he and Connie made their way to Fish Stew Pizza.

 

Before going inside the two children paused, stopping in front of the window and scoping out the area. No Jenny, Sour Cream, or Buck to be found. Kiki was at the counter, and Kofi was wiping down counters.

 

“All clear,” Steven whispered against the glass. It fogged up, and before heading inside Steven quickly drew two dots and a smiling mouth. Connie gently grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door.

 

Kiki immediately greeted them with a smile. “Hey kids! What would you like today?”

 

“Oh, sorry,” Connie said politely, her voice easily falling into a tone she used with almost everyone older than her. “We’re not here to eat anything today. We actually wanted to ask you a couple of questions.”

 

“Questions?” Kiki blinked in surprise, carefully leaning with her elbows on the counter now. “What for?”

 

Connie pushed some of her hair behind her ear and flicked her wrist, and Steven grinned. It was a tiny habit she had when she was getting ready to make a speech, or if she was trying to ‘get in character’. “I’ve been given a summer assignment for school, and the topic is on summer romance. I decided the best way to gather relevant data would be to walk around the boardwalk and ask some of the younger citizens about their… um, relationships.” Connie even managed a small blush, playing perfectly innocent and a little bashful. “So, if you don’t mind, can I ask you some questions for my essay?”

 

Kiki giggled, blushing herself. “That’s cute! Aw, but I’m not seeing anyone right now. I don’t know if I can really help you out.”

 

“That’s okay!” Connie said, a little quickly. She paused, clearing her throat before taking out a notepad and paper. “Um, Steven told me you have a sibling?”

 

“Her name’s Jenny,” Kiki offered helpfully, smiling.

 

“Is she currently in a relationship with anyone?”

 

Steven was listening with great anticipation, standing on his tip-toes, although he couldn’t help but notice Kofi was now listening in on the conversation.

 

Kiki hesitated. “Um.. w-well, I don’t think so,” she said quietly. “B-but, um, I wouldn’t know! It’s not like Jenny ever tells me about stuff like… that…”

 

She kept glancing away - Steven knew Connie noticed too, because his friend turned just enough to see Kofi watching over her shoulder. The restaurant owner looked a bit sour, but not mad, not like he had anything to hide. Kiki was a little suspicious though…

 

“Are you sure she’s not dating anybody?”

 

Kiki nodded fiercely, looking a bit uncomfortable now. A semi-forced smile overtook her face. “Now then… are you two sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

 

\--

 

“That could’ve gone better,” Steven sighed as they exited the restaurant. Connie nodded, but she didn’t look as defeated as Steven felt. “What do you think?”

 

“I believe,” Connie said, scribbling some notes on her pad, “that we learned a little more than you think!”

 

Steven perked up a little bit. “Like what?”

 

Connie seemed to be looking over her notes. “Well, I noticed Kiki was pretty comfortable admitting that she didn’t have a boyfriend herself. But when we asked about Jenny, she got a lot more nervous. You said she’s really nice and honest, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Steven said. “Jenny said once that Kiki is supposed to be the good sister, and that she was the evil twin; I think that’s kinda silly ‘cause Jenny’s really nice too.”

 

“Well, if Kiki was telling the truth about Jenny not dating anyone, I think she would’ve been a lot less nervous,” Connie explained. She added, “And did you see the way her dad was looking at us, and how much it seemed like Kiki was trying not to say anything in front of him? I bet he doesn’t know, but Kiki does. Maybe Jenny told Kiki but she isn’t allowed to tell anyone else.”

 

“But… but why would Jenny keep it a secret from her dad?”

 

Connie shook her head, as if that were obvious. “Oh Steven, it’s a classic case of an overprotective father who would disapprove of his daughters dating any unruly teens…”

 

Steven thought about it, then shrugged a little in agreement. “I guess so. Kofi can be a little, um… yelly.”

 

“Exactly. Jenny doesn’t want her dad to get mad at her for dating, so she just keeps it secret. So this means she is dating one of the boys, for sure!”

 

Steven scratched his neck, wondering if that was good news or bad news. He sighed and said, “Okay Connie, you’re probably right. What should we do next?”

 

What they _attempted_ to do was find others who might know the relationship status of Buck or Sour Cream, but the task seemed nearly impossible. Connie and Steven had to wait nearly an hour before they could speak to the ever-busy Mayor Dewey. Upon interrogating Buck’s father, the man admitted quickly that he had absolutely no clue if Buck was dating anyone, although he did insist he hadn’t had a girlfriend in the past.

 

Getting any information for Sour Cream was even harder. Yellowtail was out at sea and would be for at least the rest of the day; Onion was no help. Connie was persistent in her inquiries, eventually dropping the facade of a school report and asking Onion upfront if Sour Cream was involved with Jenny in any way. Ever mute, Onion simply stared and blinked, though Steven couldn’t help but think the pale blonde was hiding something, if the mischievous glint in his eyes was any indication.

 

Then Steven thought Onion’s eyes almost always looked like that, and decided Sour Cream’s younger brother would probably be more harm than help in their investigation.

 

Their failure with Onion led to a persistent scout all around the boardwalk. As casually and thoroughly as possible, Connie would walk with Steven and speak to anyone who was appropriately old enough to offer information for the so called ‘research paper’. Unfortunately it was harder to maneuver any conversation to Jenny and the others without raising some suspicion, and in the end neither Steven nor Connie felt as if they’d made much progress by late afternoon.

 

“Well, there goes that angle,” Connie grumbled. She testily erased some notes from her pad, attempting to scribble another before she heaved a sigh and gave up. “I can’t believe no one knows - even the people who _should_ know don’t know anything!”

 

“Quite the mystery!” Steven agreed, grinning slightly in the other direction. Like Connie, he too was feeling a bit disappointed at their lack of success, but it had been fun walking around and talking with everyone today. Along with the fact that this mystery was such a tough nut to crack, Steven couldn’t help feeling pumped and ready to investigate even deeper. They were detectives after all! They wouldn’t even need a super secret team if the answer was easy!

 

There was only one thing which really dampened Steven’s mood. “It’s almost time for you to go, I think,” he said, looking toward the sky. The sun had smoothly swam it’s lazy way across the pale expanse, ready to dive into an ocean of deeper hue. Connie didn’t say anything, but Steven felt a touch at his elbow. He turned to look at her; the gentle evening colors of the sun where getting caught in her hair.

 

Connie offered him a smile. “We didn’t really get much done today, but um… I had fun! It was still nice to hang out.” She paused, and blushed a little. It reminded Steven of when they’d first met, how shy she’d still been, and it made him think of how amazing it had been when she started coming out of her shell more. Steven had never really had a friend like Connie before.

 

Maybe that was why he noticed the sunlight in her dark hair, how it looked like golden silk strands curled and coiled, how pretty it looked. It might be why he still got flustered, sometimes, when she touched him as lightly as this, just enough so the warmth of her fingers tickled him like kitten whiskers.

 

“I’m glad…” Steven blushed, but grinned, happiness overrunning the moment. “I’m glad you had fun! And don’t worry Connie, we’ll figure something out tomorrow!”

 

He pulled his membership card out from his pocket, glad to see only one corner had gotten a bit creased while he’d been walking all day. “To the Undercover Detective Team!”

 

Connie giggled. Her palm was resting on his arm, now. “Steven! You can't just shout that out loud, people will hear. It’s a _secret_ , remember?”

 

Steven laughed. “Oh, yeah. For real, though. We’re so smart, we’ll definitely get to the bottom of all this by the end of the day tomorrow, I swear!”

 

Connie raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Do you have a plan then?”

 

“Maybe,” Steven said teasingly, turning on his heel and heading home. In truth, he definitely did not have a plan - yet! He’d have one in the morning, and impress Connie with his initiative for sure.

 

The girl giggled behind him and then caught up, walking at his side. Steven saw she had her card out too. He watched as she reached over and gently touched her card to his. “Good luck to us,” she said, soft as waves on a sandy shore.

 

* * *

 

Steven did come up with a plan by the time Connie arrived the next day.

 

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am spying on people,” was Connie’s immediate response to said idea.

 

Steven deflated.

 

“Aw, c’mon! I was working all night on that one,” Steven complained softly. Which was a lie, actually. He’d thought of it this morning.

 

Connie smiled, but shook her head. “I dunno Steven, it’s a little… weird? To follow people around.”

 

“It’s what a real detective would do!” Steven insisted. “You find your suspect and then you tail them, right? If we catch Jenny and follow her around today, maybe we’ll see who she hangs out with… Buck or Sour Cream. Then we can see if they do anything that tells if if they’re dating, or um, secret dating? You know!”

 

“What if she hangs out with both of them today?” Connie asked.

 

“Even better!” Steven said. Then he paused, because he had to think of a reason for that to be an even more ideal turn of events.

 

“I guess if they’re together all at once,” Connie said, thinking out loud, “then we’d be able to see how she reacts with them in front of one another? If she’s dating either, she’ll be more affectionate to her boyfriend. If she’s seeing one behind the other’s back, then it might be even more obvious, because she’ll be more secretive with one while the other boy’s back is turned. Probably.”

 

Steven nodded. “Exactly my point!”

 

Connie gave him a look, then shook her head and pulled her notepad out from her pocket. Steven watched as she wrote one thing on the top page, then she flipped to another and wrote something else; she did this once more, until she’d used up three pages.

 

“I wrote each person’s name on the top of a page,” she explained, showing Steven the top page, which read ‘Jenny’. “We can make notes on how the three of them act. I’ll put checkmarks down if anything seems like a confirmation of their relationship status. Hopefully, by the time we’re done, we’ll be able to look over my notes and see what stands out most.”

 

Steven agreed to the plan, and the two of them set out. It wasn’t hard to catch Jenny on her way out of Fish Stew Pizza - she usually worked late afternoons and did nighttime deliveries on the weekdays. Steven often saw her meet up with Buck and Sour Cream outside of Funland, or the three of them would drive to the outskirts of town and hang out on the road.

 

Luckily for the Undercover Detectives team, they managed to catch Jenny just as she turned a corner down the street. The two kids carefully followed Jenny at a safe distance, making sure one always had her in sight while the other made sure no one was giving them weird looks. They kept up a light, shallow conversation so they didn’t seem too suspicious.

 

Jenny ended up meeting Buck first - Connie noted this quickly - at the empty building where Steven had made shirts with the older boy. They spent about ten minutes leaning against the broken walls and talking before Sour Cream showed up. During those ten minutes, Jenny kissed Buck on the cheek twice, and Buck had held her waist with one hand as she talked, seemingly irritated with family matters.

 

Then, just when Steven and Connie thought they had a good idea of who might be Jenny’s ‘actual boyfriend’, Sour Cream cooly approached and was greeted with Jenny attaching herself to his arm. Excited, the girl was quick to pull him over so she could take Buck’s hand as well, and then she dragged them off.

 

Before following, Steven looked hesitantly over at Connie. The girl was staring at her notes, flipping between the pages with a strained expression.

 

The entirety of their day unfolded in a similar, confusing way. Steven’s head was full of question marks by noon, and Connie had been forced to move onto a fourth sheet of pad paper, then a fifth. They trailed the three teenagers very carefully, their day starting at the arcade and snaking all around Beach City at a slow, comfortable pace.

 

The cool kids seemed attracted to empty lots and spots by the beach, where they were mostly alone. It was a bit more difficult to trail closely here, and so Steven and Connie were forced to watch from afar, sometimes atop fences or small hills. They would see the three teenaers walk and talk, sometimes pause to mess with the environment around them - on the beach they spent nearly an hour inspecting shells or wading in the ocean, having animated conversations neither the kids could hear. Watching them relax and play made Steven antsy to do the same.

 

Constantly, Jenny would be near one of the boys, sometimes holding their hand or arm, and sometimes pulling them both close to her when she was suffering a fit of laughter. Connie had scribbled down and crossed out lines on Jenny’s page so many times, she eventually ripped it out in a fit of frustration before starting again on a clean sheet beneath the others.

 

When the three moved away from the beach and made their way off the boardwalk, Steven and Connie followed. The trio ended up visiting the hill where Rose took the moss to bloom. Steven and Connie watched, tired from their long walk over, as were the teens. The trio laid down in the grass, on their bellies or backs, talking aimlessly. Their conversations where just quiet enough to be inaudible to the young detectives, who passed the lull in activity by playing tic-tac-toe and discussing their strange notes.

 

For the most part, Jenny seemed to show equal affection to both boys. She was very comfortable touching both of them, and neither reacted oddly to the other being held. They also seemed fine touching each other, which surprised Connie most. It wasn’t as open as Jenny’s hand-holding and playful battering; sometimes Buck would knock his elbow to Sour Cream’s, or the taller boy might dance his fingers along Buck’s back and up to flick at his hair. When the three of them were quite alone, Sour Cream would sometimes throw his arm casually over Buck’s shoulders and leave it hanging there for minutes at a time.

 

By the time the day was mostly spent, with Steven and Connie following the teenagers back home, Connie was having an absolute fit.

 

“It just - I don’t - none of it makes sense!” she insisted, her voice uncharacteristically tight with frustration and a little anger. Steven usually only heard her sound like this when she was complaining about a particularly irritating section of a book. “These notes are atrocious,” she commented, looking balefully down at her messy marks. Connie huffed, “Totally useless.”

 

“Aww, c’mon Connie…” Steven said sympathetically, watching Jenny and the others enter Fish Stew Pizza as he did so. “It’s not… _so_ bad…?”

 

Connie gave him a look, unappreciative of his attempted pep talk. “I just don’t understand,” she said, eyebrows quirked unhappily. “It’s obvious _someone_ is dating _somebody_ , with the way those three act, but I just can’t tell who! If I hadn’t seen Jenny kissing Buck, or if you hadn’t thought she was dating Sour Cream, I’d actually have to wonder if… if, maybe, Buck and Sour Cream m-might be dating or something,” Connie said, face growing red.

 

Steven was surprised, if only a little - he’d kind of been thinking the same thing, but he wasn’t expecting Connie to agree. “You think so too?”

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

Steven nodded, then sighed, frowning. “I wish we knew! This is even more confusing than before…”

 

The two of them sat quietly, sulking as the sky slowly began to shift. Steven estimated another hour or so before he and Connie had to head back home. Steven couldn’t think of what they might be able to attempt next time. Connie wouldn’t be available to come over for the next few days, which would give him time… but right now, feeling exhausted and more than a little defeated at their fruitless day…

 

“I can’t think of anything we could do to figure this out,” Connie said quietly, voicing Steven’s own thoughts. He looked at her. She was staring down at her notepad, lazily scribbling over her notes. “We’re not very good detectives, are we?”

 

Steven chuckled, but Connie did not. The boy hesitated, realizing she’d meant what she said. Steven quickly turned around and shook his head. “No way! We’re good… our cards say so! This is just a super hard case, and only… only the best super secret team can figure this out! We just need to… um…”

 

He lost his flare immediately, rubbing his neck and trying to think with his tired mind. Absolutely every angle seemed impossible, and Steven honestly felt like they would never be able to figure out what was really going on if they kept at it like they had been.

 

Oh, there it was. An idea.

 

“Let’s ask!”

 

Connie sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. “Steven, we already tried that.”

 

“No, I mean, let’s ask Jenny and Buck and Sour Cream!”

 

The girl before him paused, looking up and tilting her head as if incredibly confused. Steven didn’t think it was that complex a plan… he just thought it might work!

 

“But Steven… that’s not exactly the, um… It’s not the most subtle approach.”

 

“Exactly! I mean, being sneaky isn’t getting us anywhere. Not with this case.” Steven tapped his chin, elbow in his other hand as he struck a thoughtful pose. “No, no, this nut is too tough to crack like that. Amethyst would say we need to go for it, right for the eyes! Pearl would probably say we’d need an alternate plan of attack!”

 

Connie blinked at him, still looking a little lost. “What would Garnet say?” she asked suddenly, plainly.

 

Steven paused. “Uh, I don’t think Garnet would say anything. Pearl and Amethyst would probably start arguing, and then Garnet would just go do something while they were busy. I mean, that’s how it usually goes when the others start arguing…”

 

“Well… I guess that’s better than not knowing anything at all,” Connie admitted. She put her notebook away, finally, into her back pocket. “I’m just so curious! Hopefully they’ll tell us the truth.”

 

“Of course! This is the least expected and most surprising plan we could have ever chosen!”

 

“The perfect plan,” Connie agreed, smiling, though she looked tired. Steven put an arm hand on her arm and smiled back, trying to convey energy he himself didn’t even have after running around all day.

 

The two of them hesitantly entered the restaurant and were relieved to find all three teenagers seated in the back. Steven had been worried the boys might have left while he and Connie were talking, but he saw they were all sharing a pizza for dinner. Although, it seemed like Jenny was letting the boys have most of it.

 

Kiki greeted the kids pleasantly, but Steven shook his head before she could ask what they wanted to order. He smiled and pointed to the teens; Kiki nodded and gestured for him to go on his way.

 

Buck was the first to notice them approaching. “Hey Steven,” he said cooly, smiling over his half-eaten slice. Sour Cream and Jenny turned slightly to look. They both said hey in a similar manner.

 

Steven noticed Connie start to slow - she hadn’t officially met any of the cool kids yet, and though getting familiar with the other citizens on the boardwalk had been easy, Steven realized it was mostly because she had an excuse and distraction, and curiosity had spurred her on. Now, she was going with Steven to ask a pretty personal question of people who didn’t even know her name.

 

Steven gently took Connie’s hand and gave her a reassuring smile. “This is my friend Connie,” Steven said to the others as he grinned. “She doesn’t live on the boardwalk but she’s visiting me today!”

 

Hearing their pleasant greetings, Connie smiled and stepped forward a bit. “Pleased to meet you,” she said, polite as always with new people.

 

Jenny chuckled, giving Steven a look. “Steven, you never told us you had such a cute little friend! She’s your age?”

 

Steven flushed, then nodded. “U-um, yeah. Ah, anyways, I actually wanted to ask you something Jenny!”

 

The teen tilted her head and put down her pizza. “Oh yeah? What is it?”

 

Steven opened his mouth, but felt a tap on his shoulder. Connie gave him what was probably a pointed look, and jerked her head behind them at Kiki. It took Steven a second to understand.

 

“Uhh, is Kofi here…?” Steven asked, remembering what he and Connie had decided yesterday. It would be pretty unlikely they’d get an honest answer if Connie was right, and Jenny was trying to hide something from her dad.

 

Jenny seemed surprised at his odd question, but shrugged and shook her head. “Nah, he’s out deliverin’ pizzas. Was that all?”

 

“N-no!” Steven hesitated, then said, “No, that wasn’t all. I was… u-um, I was wondering…”

 

He couldn’t think of how to phrase it. At this point, Steven wasn’t even sure _what_ he should ask. It seemed obvious now that _someone_ at the table was dating _someone else_ , but Steven honestly couldn’t decide which two teens it could be. Jenny seemed close with both Buck and Sour Cream, and physically affectionate… They’d all gone out and talked, and all three had spent a day at the arcade and the beach, and they’d all laughed and walked and touched shoulders or held hands with one another. It was almost like…

 

...like they’d _all_ gone out on a date.

 

Steven’s eyes grew wide, and before he could contain himself, he threw his arms in the air and shouted in epiphany, “Are the three of you dating each other!?”

 

The restaurant grew suddenly still.

 

Just out of the corner of his eye, Steven could see Connie giving him a look of quiet disbelief. All the teens’ faces betrayed some varied level of shock. Steven wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Still, something about his answer felt right, and so Steven continued to look at all three of them with bright, curious eyes.

 

Buck was the first one to break the pause His chuckle was soft and short, but it was followed by an easy grin from Sour Cream, and a much louder giggle from Jenny. “Dang Steven, you’re a pretty observant kid,” Buck said, his relaxed tone tinged with casual surprise.

 

“Yeah, I think you’re the only one who’s even caught on yet,” Sour Cream added before eating more of his pizza.

 

Steven’s eyes exploded with stars. “Really!?”

 

Jenny laughed again, “Uh, yeah! We’re kind of… _all_ together.”

 

“Wh-what?” Connie spoke up for the first time, stepping forward and staring at them all in confusion. “You’re all dating each other… all three of you? You can do that!?”

 

Jenny blushed, and Buck chuckled again. “Well, I mean- Heh, It’s not exactly a normal situation,” Jenny explained. “Like, okay, most people only date one person, right? Cool, whatever. But sometimes people can love more than one person, and sometimes all three of those people love each other! I mean, you can have more than one family member and still love all of your family equally, right? Same with loving your friends a lot! You’re not just going to pick and choose one friend you love the most and only be friends with them. So, like… sometimes you love two people romantically, and you love them both exactly the same, so you don’t wanna just choose one.”

 

Buck nodded in agreement, and Sour Cream hummed and smiled as he chewed his pizza. Connie’s eyebrows creased as she tried to process all this new information. It was a little easier for Steven to wrap his head around - to be fair, he’d never had a very limited view on who was allowed to love whom and why. Deciding to be with more than one person when you loved them both equally… Honestly, it made more sense than just sticking to one person, if only a little bit. Steven could definitely see the argument from different angles.

 

Feeling proud, Steven grinned and pumped his fist. “Connie, we did it! We solved the mystery!”

 

“You solved it,” Connie said, looking at him with surprise. “I would never have thought of something like that.” She looked at Jenny again, voice a little desperate as she asked, “Are you sure that’s something you can do? Just… date more than one person? C-can you do that with four people?”

 

Jenny blushed, laughing, and waved a hand. “C’mon guys, it’s a little personal! Besides, I think you guys are still a little young to be worryin’ about stuff like this…”

 

“Yeah, why where you curious anyway?” Sour Cream asked. Connie blushed, and Steven couldn’t help but chuckle nervously.

 

“Well, um…”

 

\--

 

Steven and Connie managed to avoid complete embarrassment, dodging enough questions so the teenagers didn’t know they’d been tailed all day. In the end the kids ended up joining Buck, Sour Cream, and Jenny, talking about everything and nothing over pizza. Connie seemed genuinely glad to get to know them better, and that made Steven happy too. Now neither of them had to feel frustrated and confused about the mystery anymore!

 

Just before Steven and Connie were about to leave, however, Jenny stopped them. “Hey guys, uh, not sure if it was obvious but just in case, you know not to tell anyone about this, right?”

 

Steven and Connie looked at each other, then nodded reassuringly. As if they were going to go off and reveal a secret to everyone, especially one they’d spent two and a half days worrying over!

 

A thought crossed Steven’s mind, and he leaned against the now-clean table. “Wait, so you guys dating is a secret, right?”

 

“Yup,” Buck said, with the others nodding.

 

“So you could say it’s kind of like a… secret team?” Steven asked hopefully, gripping the edge of the table in excitement. Connie saw the stars in his eyes and giggled behind her hand.

 

The phrase seemed to amuse all three teenagers. “Haha, sure!” Jenny said. “I guess you could call it that.”

 

“Well… you know what a secret team needs, right?” Steven asked, bouncing on his toes. The three of them shrugged, looking at him expectantly.

 

Connie took a cautious step back, laughing, as Steven said with a shout, _“Membership cards!”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then they all got together and drew cute membership cards for the cool kids, and there where crayons everywhere, and it was super cute, the end
> 
> aw man im so glad i'm finished with this~ this was super fun to write! so cute
> 
> i apologize if the ending seems a bit weak or sudden, but i am so, so tired, i've been tired all day but i really wanted to get this finished for you guys! thank you all so much for the great response!! it really means a lot. 
> 
> you can definitely expect some more poly cool kids in the future, more directly focused on 'em next time. steven and connie where loads of fun to write in this though uvu
> 
> thanks again! it is so late and i am off to bed~

**Author's Note:**

> I'm hoping this will stick to two chapters in length, so let's hope I can write the next one pretty soon! Nice comments work great as encouragement for speedy updates... ;3 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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